RHONA LAWSON is almost scared to close her eyes in case she never wakes up again due to family history of Sudden Death Syndrome.

AS Rhona Lawson lays her head on her pillow every night, she is almost too scared to close her eyes.

Nine years ago, Rhona’s sister Moira died after her heart suddenly stopped beating while she was sleeping. She was just 20 and apparently fit and healthy.

Three weeks ago, her 21-year-old brother Euan died in exactly the same way.

Rhona, who lives with her parents in Dundee, said: “Every time I go to bed at night, I’m scared to go to sleep in case I don’t wake up again.

“I try to tell myself not to worry but my brain won’t switch off and all my fears just go round and round. My parents check in on me before they go to bed at night, they check in on me first thing in the morning and if my mum sees my light on during the night, she will check in on me then too.

“Sometimes I drift off to sleep for around 20 minutes at a time but I wake up again and never fall into a deep sleep.

Doctors have told Rhona’s heartbroken parents Mariette and Andrew that both the youngest and the eldest of their three children were victims of Sudden Death Syndrome.

The umbrella term is used to describe the many different causes of cardiac arrest that result in the death of at least 12 seemingly healthy young people across Britain each week.

Euan Lawson who died of sudden adult death syndrome.

While many collapse playing sport, others like Moira and Euan die in their sleep.

The death certificates of all the young victims state they died of natural causes.

But Rhona, 24, says there is nothing natural about the deaths of her brother and sister.

And while she awaits the results of detailed medical tests carried out last week to check the health of her own heart, she admits she is now too terrified to fall asleep at night or even take a nap.

She said: “Both my brother and sister seemed fit and well, yet they died in their sleep.

“What happened to them is frightening but what’s even more frightening is that no one seems to know why deaths like this occur.

“How can 12 young people in the UK be allowed to die like this every week?

“Why do we not know more about what causes such deaths?

“Why is there not more research being carried out into how we can spot who is at risk so that they canbe helped?

“And why have so few people even heard of Sudden Death Syndrome?”

Rhona' sister Moira who died in her sleep

Student Moira died in December 2004 and, after her death, Rhona and Euan attended Ninewells Hospital for a series of heart tests.

Both Rhona and her brother – known as Euan to his family but Sean to his friends – were given a clean bill of health. But Euan died last month after failing to wake up from an afternoon nap.

Rhona, an acting manager for Tesco Phone Shop, said: “I was 15 when Moira died and Euan was only 12.

“Moira was so health conscious. She was a fully trained reflexologist and was doing a degree in herbal medicine.

“When she died, Euan and I were both frightened to go to sleep in case the same thing happened to us but we went through a lot of tests and we were both told we had no problems.

“As time went on, I felt more relaxed. I accepted being told our hearts were fine – it put my mind at ease.

“But Euan’s sleep issues never went away. He never slept well during the night and would always catch up with wee naps during the day.

“He was having a nap when he died.”

Moira was found dead in her bed after Rhona’s worried mum had called police when she couldn’t reach her daughter on the phone or get into her flat. Euan was found dead in his bed by his flatmate. Rhona said: “We have always been a really close family and even though both Moira and Euan had left home when they died, we still saw them all the time.

“Moira spoke to mum every day and when a day passed and mum hadn’t heard from her, she was worried and went round to her flat.

“When she couldn’t get in, she called the police to break the door down and they found her in bed.

“Euan’s flatmate found him and called an ambulance and the police before calling us too.

“I’ll never forget the sound of mum’s scream when she took that phone call. And as we raced over to Euan’s flat, we just knew what had happened.”

Despite post mortems being carried out on both Moira and Euan, no clue could be given to the cause of their deaths other than their hearts had simply stopped beating.

Tragically, they were not the first young people in Rhona’s family to die young.

In 1971, Mariette’s brother Danny died sleeping in his bed aged just 14. And three months before Moira’s death, Andrew’s niece, Michelle, 26, dropped dead as she left a gym.

Rhona Lawson with her brother Euan and sister Moira

Tests revealed Michelle, who had a three-month-old son, had suffered from a heart condition.

Rhona said: “Despite our family history, doctors couldn’t see any problems with Euan’s heart or mine.

“Three years ago, my dad and I took part in medical research for people with a family history of heart problems.

“We underwent a series of heart tests and again no problems were found.

“Now I’ve had more tests done – almost 10 years on from the first round of tests – and I’m just waiting to see what they say.”

In the meantime, Rhona and her family are trying to come to terms with the loss of Euan and the wounds that have been reopened over the loss of Moira.

Rhona said: “Moira was our big sister – our boss. She was the one who looked out for us. Euan was my little brother and when we were growing up, we were so close and looked so like each other. Everyone thought we were twins.

“It had taken us such a long time to come to terms with Moira’s loss and now Euan has gone too.

“On the Monday of the week Euan died, he came round to tell us he was joining the RAF. He died the next day.

“One day he was sitting across from me in the sitting room, in front of the computer, laughing and joking. The next day,he was gone.

“Every time the door opens, I expect him to come walking into the room.

“Every time I get an alert from Facebook, I expect it to be a message from him.

“No one is drinking all the milk he used to drink by the gallon or getting through the loaves of bread that now barely get touched. The house seems very empty and quiet.

“And my mum, dad and I just feel so numb.”

Despite her grief and her fears for her own health, Rhona says she takes comfort from a picture she was sent by a friend.

It shows a drawing of a brother and sister and carries the message: “Siblings will take different paths and life may separate them…but they will forever be bonded by having begun their journey in the same boat.”

She said: “That sums up exactly how I feel.

“Moira and Euan might have been separated from me but they will always be with me.

“I want to do everything I can to raise awareness of Sudden Death Syndrome in memory of both Moiraand Euan.

“And I want to do everything I can to stop any other family having to go through the pain my family are going through.”